However, as long as people watch to learn a little and not expect a definitive view, they can have a great time enjoying fun performances.

Rosanne Cash, who sang 10 songs at a gathering of reporters last summer, then spoke exclusively with
Zap2it, reflects on Americana.

"I define it as roots music, with a heavy emphasis on real songwriting and literate songwriting," she says, leaning back into a couch and sipping a glass of wine. "It is authentic, connecting, not just assaulting your sense. Whether bluegrass or folk, it is rooted in something real about songwriting."

The hourlong documentary features interviews with artists, producers and music journalists. People say they know Americana when they hear it.

The genre includes bluegrass, hillbilly, neo-rock, Cajun, rhythm and blues, and a willingness to accept different sounds into the folds of Americana.

"I think that a big part of the appeal of the category is that it's embracing as opposed to limiting," co-director
Susan Wittenberg says at a press conference.

Many credit
Emmylou Harris with being the godmother of the style.

"We were doing it for a long time; we just didn't know what it was called," Harris says in the film.

There are clips of exquisite performances. As PBS so often does, this introduces artists viewers might not otherwise encounter.
Carolina Chocolate Drops fit this bill and are so engaging, viewers will want to attend their concerts.

Some concert clips are of more famous groups such as
Mumford & Sons. During the film, Cash is shown in a photo with her dad,
Johnny Cash.

The superstar never pushed her to become a performer, but he realized she needed a better grounding in music education when he would mention a famous song, and she didn't know it. So Cash wrote a list of 100 essential songs for her. About the same time, when Rosanne was 18, she learned how to play guitar.

"I learned from
Carl Perkins," Cash says.

Consider that statement for a moment - learning to play guitar from Perkins, who wrote "Blue Suede Shoes" and was part of that magical, one-day recording session, the Million Dollar Quartet, with
Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash.

"My dad was always on tour," Cash says. "There was an epiphany of what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to write songs. I was obsessed. I was ready for it."

As country as her roots are, Cash has lived in New York for 22 years. And that, says
Terry Stewart, the film's executive producer and past CEO and president of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, proves the wide reach of Americana.

"A lot of these groups and these bands come out of music schools in places like New York City," Stewart says. "Who would have thought that this would be their inspiration, that they go down that road? It's always been rock and jazz, and now you've got kids actually studying this.

"It would seem that this field is going to be replete with more and more new artists," he continues. "And, again, if you look at the cycle, how music changes and remains the same, it suggests that we've got a long run to look forward to of some great new artists."